The Perfect Man
by EscapedLunatic
Summary: Ruth has a persistent admirer. Harry/Ruth. Ignores 5.5.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kudos and the BBC. The title doesn't belong to me either.**

**Happy Valentine's!**

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It had been nice at first; the lingering glances across the grid, the way he would find excuses to stop by her desk for a chat or bring her a fresh cup of coffee. Ros and Jo regularly attracted admirers and being on the receiving end of such attention herself had given Ruth a refreshing boost of confidence. She had overheard Jo calling his behaviour "romantic", and up until that point, she probably would have agreed. Then he had started asking her out.

There was just one problem; he wasn't Harry.

Daniel Parrish was in his early thirties, tall, and due to his tousled wavy brown hair and long sideburns, looked as though he had walked straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Seconded from GCHQ; he had joined Section D three weeks ago and had immediately taken an interest in Ruth.

The first time he had attempted to get her to see him outside work; Daniel had casually asked everyone if they wanted to go to the George for a few drinks after their shift ended. Thanks to a persistent group of hackers; Ruth hadn't slept since 5am two days earlier and had politely turned down his offer, wanting nothing more than to go home, collapse onto her bed and stay there for the next week. Daniel had briefly looked disappointed, but at the time, Ruth had thought nothing more of it.

Four days later, during another casual passing of her desk; he had asked Ruth if she'd like to go to dinner that night. She was in the process of creating an excuse, when Daniel informed her that he had already booked the table. Ruth was struck with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and a suspicious feeling that Daniel had been talking to Jo. She informed Daniel that she already had plans and spent the next hour wondering how one man could make the offer of a pre-booked meal seem romantic, while the other just came across as smug.

Two days later, a wrapped box of chocolates from the shop across the road arrived on her desk. A smile spread across Ruth's face; until she found the attached note and realised that the chocolates were not from Harry. Scribbled in almost unintelligible writing were the words: _How about lunch then?_ Ruth gave the chocolates to Malcolm, who had used them to test a new tracking device he had been working on, and told Daniel that she definitely did not want to go to lunch or dinner with him.

Her hopes that that would be the end of it were demolished the following morning when she stepped onto the Grid and was greeted by an enormous bouquet of flowers on her desk. Closer inspection revealed a card, which simply read: _Breakfast?_

Both had been unceremoniously dumped in the bin.

---

It had been five days since the flowers, and Ruth was finally allowing herself to believe that Daniel had taken the hint. The admiring glances were still being aimed in her direction, but she was happy to put up with them if it meant an end to the unwanted gifts and date invitations. Jo having realised that her attempt at matchmaking had been ill-advised, had even apologised for helping Daniel.

Ruth was in such a good mood, that when Zaf asked everyone if they had any plans for tomorrow, she completely missed the relevance, and was pleasantly surprised at how many of her co-workers replied that they were going on a date.

It wasn't until she was signing and dating a report 20 minutes later that Ruth realised the significance of Zaf's question. Today was the 13th of February, which made tomorrow the 14th; _Valentines Day_. A horrible feeling settled in her stomach. Surely Daniel wouldn't try asking her on a date again, would he? Judging by his behaviour during the past two weeks, she wouldn't put it past him. And it would explain the inane grin he had been sporting all day. He'd probably been planning it all week.

Suddenly feeling the need to get some fresh air; Ruth stood, grabbed her coat and made her way towards the pods. She was half way across the Grid when she spotted Daniel; or rather, his unruly mop of hair coming around the corner, smiling as he caught sight of her. A quick scan of the immediate area proved futile for hiding places, and it was with a frustrated sigh that Ruth sank back into her chair, admitting defeat. There really was no way of avoiding him now and she supposed it was better to get this over with sooner rather than later. That way she might actually be able to enjoy Valentines Day.

"Hi." Daniel grinned as he arrived at her desk.

Ruth forced a smile. It was funny how; just over two weeks ago, she would have described his smile as attractive.

"I was hoping to catch you." He continued, his grin becoming wider as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "I've been wanting to ask you something."

The usually busy grid suddenly fell silent as curious co-workers realised what was going on and tried to listen in as surreptitiously as possible. Ruth couldn't help but think that they would all benefit from an extensive _How To Eavesdrop Without Being So Bloody Obvious_ course and made a mental note to mention it to Harry later.

She focussed her attention back on Daniel. "Yes?"

"Ok, picture this." He spread his hands, palms outwards as if imagining a landscape. "Tomorrow night. What do you think of you, me and front row seats at an Elton John concert, followed by a night of ho-"

"Alright, stop!" Ruth interrupted, holding up her hands in protest.

Daniel paused, grin dropping from his face. "You don't like Elton John? Because I can change the tickets."

"It's not that." She groaned.

"What then?"

"You, you…" Ruth grasped around quickly for a remotely plausible reason. "You're not my type."

Daniel was silent for a moment as he considered her answer.

"_I'm_ not you're type?" He finally asked, incredulously. Evidently he was having trouble believing that any woman would be able to resist him.

"No. You're not." Her tone was clipped, though Daniel didn't seem to notice.

"What is you're type then?" He responded, clearly thinking that he could talk her round. He raised a finger, comically as another idea dawned on him. "No, wait. I'll go one better; describe your perfect man."

A smile tugged at the corners of Ruth's lips as an exact image of her perfect man came to the front of her mind. _"A 54 year old, blonde haired, brown eyed Section head with a smile that makes me go weak at the knees and a laugh that sends shivers down my spine." _Her slight smile turned into a full on grin. _"Not to mention what his hands do to me."_

She was interrupted from her appraisal by the sound of Jo and Malcolm simultaneously choking on their respective coffees. Rolling her eyes and half wondering what Zaf had done to cause that reaction this time; she turned her gaze back to Daniel, ready to convey to him that her idea of a perfect man was none of his business. However, the words died on her lips as she took in his expression – a mix of shock and bewilderment.

Confused, Ruth looked towards Jo and Malcolm, hoping for some insight into Daniel's reaction; only to find that they, along with the majority of their co-workers, were staring wide-eyed back at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely registered an open mouthed Adam handing a ten pound note to an equally gaping Zaf.

And then the realisation hit. Her evaluation of Harry hadn't been nearly as silent as she had intended.

Panic gripped her as she started to imagine how Harry might react when he found out. And he would find out; if he hadn't heard already. The gossip was inevitable. Slowly, she glanced in the direction of his office, almost afraid of what she might see. A part of her hoped he might be in a meeting in Whitehall, though she knew that was wishful thinking as she'd been memorising his schedule for years.

Her eyes found him standing just outside the forgery suite; his demeanour leaving her in no doubt that he'd heard every word. His half smile, intended to reassure her, had the opposite effect; instead bringing a tide of emotions to the surface. A small sob escaped Ruth's throat and she fled through the pods, desperate to escape the barrage of questions that were certain to follow.

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**Thanks for reading. More soon :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Ruth closed her eyes and slumped back against the wall; the cold slowly seeping through her thin blouse a welcome, if fairly ineffective, distraction from the turmoil she had just created. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she replayed the last few minutes over and over in her head and she wondered how could she have been so stupid.

Over the years, Ruth had learned never to become even remotely involved in conversations where her thoughts could run away with themselves; and yet she had been unable to stop herself when Daniel had confronted her. The second her thoughts had turned to Harry, she had been destined for disaster. His presence never failed to turn her into a gibbering mess; Harry himself often took full advantage of it, on and off the Grid; and, as she had proved a moment ago, just thinking about him had the same effect.

The one plus side was that her description had been cut short before she'd had been able to continue her train of thought. Ruth could only imagine what she might have said had she had the chance to finish. She probably would have died on the spot from humiliation. Ruth let out a hollow laugh. At least then she wouldn't be in her current situation; hiding from everyone; including the one man she desperately wanted to be with.

Harry would almost certainly want nothing to do with her now anyway. After all; who would want to continue to spend time with a woman who blurted out her innermost thoughts to a room full of co-workers? She was an embarrassment; the kind of person that should be avoided at every opportunity. Ruth sighed, sadly. Their seven months of bliss had no doubt been permanently ruined by her inability to filter her thoughts before speaking.

A steady flow of tears trickled down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around herself, plagued by the single thought, that if only she had explained to Daniel the real reason she couldn't see him outside of work, none of this would have happened.

---

Harry burst through the metal door and onto the roof of Thames House, anxiously trying to locate Ruth. He had already searched the archive room, the firearms suite and the women's toilets on the way up; the latter of which had almost resulted in him receiving a face full of pepper spray, and he was running out of places to look.

Concluding that she wasn't up here either, he was about to return down the stairwell, when a series of quiet sniffing noises reached his ears. Harry followed the sound to the disused and far more secluded back section of the roof; where he found her, huddled in a corner, crying quietly.

"Ruth."

Hearing him quietly call her name, Ruth hastily wiped the tears from her face and turned around.

His heart ached seeing her so upset. She looked so helpless, so alone, that he quickly closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. His actions brought forward more tears and she buried her face into Harry's broad chest, the combination of her mascara and fresh tears staining his shirt as she wept silently. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and placed a series of light kisses on the top of her head as he waited, patiently, for her to explain.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled into his shirt once she had regained her composure.

"Ruth, you have nothing to be sorry for." He responded, softly, as his hands traced soothing patterns across her back.

She pulled away from his embrace and looked at him, questioningly. "But, w-we agreed not to tell anyone about us yet, and I, I just…" She pulled a face; he knew exactly what she'd done.

Harry smiled and raised his hands to her cheeks, tenderly brushing the remaining tears away before placing a finger below her chin and raising her head to meet his eyes; making sure she was paying attention before he spoke. "Contrary to the childish behaviour that some of the team seem to enjoy exhibiting; we do work with a fairly intelligent group of people, Ruth. They were bound to work it out eventually."

She nodded and a small smile flitted across Ruth's lips, before her shoulders sagged and she lowered her gaze.

"I thought you'd hate me." She confessed. It was almost a whisper and he probably wouldn't have heard it had she not been standing so close.

"I could never hate you, Ruth." Harry rested his forehead against hers. "Admittedly, everyone finding out this way wasn't what I had in mind; but now that it's out in the open… I'm happy if you are."

She nodded again, blinking back fresh tears that were threatening to fall; this time from joy. She should have known that he wouldn't blame her for accidentally breaking their promise.

"Besides." He continued, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Your revelation was actually very intriguing. I'm planning on putting that information to good use." A light pink stain spread across Ruth's cheeks at his words. "And I will, of course, make sure Mr Parrish receives just punishment. I think two months as Debra Langham's personal assistant should do it."

"Harry, it wasn't his fault. He didn't know I wasn't single."

"That's no excuse for continuing to pursue you after you'd told him not to."

"That didn't stop you." She smirked, her eyes regaining their sparkle as she recalled Harry's actions after she had put an end to his hopes of a second date all those months ago.

"Mitigating circumstances." He countered; pleased that Ruth was returning to her usual playful self. "I was hopelessly in love with you. And my method was far more welcome."

Ruth raised an eyebrow. "I seem to remember you showing up at my house at two o'clock in the morning, shivering in the pouring rain."

He chuckled. "So I did."

"You were sick for a week. I felt unbelievably guilty and had to look after you." She reminded him.

"It was worth it." He leant forward, capturing her lips and drawing her into a brief kiss.

Ruth sighed contentedly as she wound her arms around his neck. "You really don't mind that I have a habit of blurting things out at inopportune moments?"

Harry shook his head. "It's one of the many, many things I love about you. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing what you divulge to the office next."

She snorted. "Just be glad you haven't proposed; I'd be likely to let it slip to the entire building."

He smiled, shyly.

Ruth's head snapped up when he didn't respond. "Oh God, I've done it again, haven't I?"

"I was going to wait until tomorrow." Harry spoke, hesitantly, as he reached into his jacket pocket and removed a small, velvet covered box. "I know it's cheesy, proposing on Valentines Day; but-"

"Yes." She gasped; her hand flying to her mouth.

"I- what?"

"Yes." Ruth repeated. "I'll marry you."

He laughed. "Ruth, I haven't asked you yet."

"Ah, right. Sorry." She replied, though the barely concealed smile that followed implied she was anything but.

"And don't interrupt." He chastised, teasingly.

She poked her tongue out at him, but remained silent.

Harry took a deep breath and bent down on one knee; opening the box to reveal a princess cut diamond ring. "Ruth, there aren't words to describe how wonderful the last seven months have been and I can't imagine waking up in the mornings without you being there. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Ruth's beaming grin was all the answer he needed.

---

Daniel was the first to snap out of the collective surprise that had fallen on Section D. Most had known for years about Ruth and Harry's feelings for each other, yet hearing Ruth's sudden confirmation had left them all in various states of amazement.

"_Harry?_" Daniel asked, incredulously. "What does he have that I don't?"

Always keen to support his friends; Adam suppressed a smile and pretended to consider Daniel's question. "Well, _he_ has charm; charisma..."

"Intellect; sophistication." Zaf added, struggling to contain his amusement as he counted the suggestions off on his fingers.

"Access to a barber." Jo muttered; looking disapprovingly at Daniel's sideburns.

"Dress sense; a knighthood." Continued Adam, turning to Ros for her input.

"Animal magnetism." Ros quipped, her eyes remaining focussed on her computer screen. A ghost of a smile crossed her features as Jo once again struggled to swallow her coffee.

Malcolm sat to one side quietly watching the scene playing out in front of him. The rest of the team had become so involved in their annihilation of Daniel's self-confidence that they had failed to notice that Harry was no longer on the Grid. Malcolm smiled as he voiced his own contribution.

"Ruth."

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